US monitors possible radioactive leak at nuclear power plant in China

The United States government is evaluating a report of a leak in a Chinese nuclear power plant, after a French company, which owns part of the plant and helps operate it, warned of a “imminent radiological threat“In this one, reports this Monday the CNN.

The Framatome company has warned that the Chinese safety authority is raising the acceptable limits for radiation detection outside the Taishan nuclear power plant in Guangdong province to avoid having to shut it down. This is what the French company, a subsidiary of the energy giant EDF, affirms in a letter addressed to the US State Department obtained by CNN, who also spoke with officials familiar with the incident.

Despite the alarming notification from Framatome, the French company which manages the plant, the administration chaired by Joe Biden believes that the installation is not yet at a “crisis level”. US officials believe the situation does not presently pose a serious threat. for the safety of factory workers or the Chinese public.

However, it is highly unusual for a foreign company to seek help from the US government when its Chinese state partner has yet to recognize that there is a problem. And that scenario could put the United States in a tough spot if the leak continues or worsens without being fixed, as he explained. CNN.

The Biden administration’s concern over the incident was significant enough that the National Security Council held several meetings last week. while monitoring the situation, including two high level.

The Biden administration has discussed the situation with the French government and its own experts from the Energy Ministry, the sources said.

Washington has also been in contact with the Chinese government, US officials said, although the extent of that contact has not been finalized.

In a statement released last Friday, a few hours later CNN will contact Framatome for the first time to inquire about the incident, the French company admitted that it “was solving a problem at the Taishan nuclear power plant in Guangdong province, China”.

“Based on the data available, the plant is operating within safety parameters. Our team is working with relevant experts to assess the situation and offer solutions to resolve any potential problem, ”the statement added. However, Framatome did not directly refer to the content of the letter it sent to the Ministry of Energy during CNN I ask him.

The two Taishan reactors to date, they are the only EPR reactors in operation in the world. Other examples of this type are under construction in Finland, France and the United Kingdom. The EDF company indicated that “an increase in the concentration of certain rare gases in the primary circuit of reactor number one had been recorded” of the Taishan factory, referring to the refrigeration system.

Noble gases include argon, helium or neon, with low chemical reactivity. The presence of these gases in the system “is a known phenomenon, studied and predicted in the operating processes of reactors”, added EDF. The French group, however, said that called for an extraordinary meeting of the entity shutting down the plant to present “all the necessary data and decisions”.

For its part, the firm that manages the plant, China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), said in a statement that the environmental indicators were “normal”, without making any reference to the information published by CNN.

(With information from AFP and EFE)

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